History of the violin
Encyclopedia : H : HI : HIS : History of the violin
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History
Beginnings, and Golden Age
The violin first emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century. While no instruments from the first decades of the century survive, there are several representations in paintings; some of the early instruments have only three strings. Most likely the first makers of violins borrowed from three different types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arab rebab), the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. The earliest explicit description of the instrument, including its tuning, was in the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyon in 1556. By this time the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe.
The first real violin was built by Andrea Amati in the first half of the 16th century by order of the Medici family, who had asked for an instrument that could be used by street-musicians, but with the quality of a lute, which was a very popular instrument among the noble in that time. Andrea Amati, one of the famous luthiers, or lute-builders, in that time decided to use the technique of applying a mould to build the instrument very precisely. In addition to that, he made the instrument vaulted, for he knew that that would provide for a much greater tone than was common until then. Needless to say that the violin immediately became very popular, both among street-musicians and the noble, which is illustrated by the fact that the French king Charles IX ordered Amati to build a whole orchestra in the second half of the 16th century.
The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is the "Charles IX" by Andrea Amati, made in Cremona in 1564. Perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most pristine is the "Le Messie" (also known as the 'Salabue') made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 and never used. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford.
The most famous violin makers, called luthiers, between the late 16th century and the 18th century included:
- Amati family of Italian violin makers, Andrea Amati (1500-1577), Antonio Amati (1540-1607), Hieronymous Amati I (1561-1630), Nicolo Amati (1596-1684), Hieronymous Amati II (1649-1740)
- Guarneri family of Italian violin makers, Andrea Guarneri (1626- 1698), Pietro of Mantua (1655-1720), Giuseppe Guarneri (Joseph filius Andreae) (1666-1739), Pietro Guarneri (of Venice) (1695-1762), and Giuseppe (del Gesu) (1698-1744)
- Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) of Cremona
- Jacob Stainer (1617-1683) of Absam in Tyrol
- the fingerboard was made a little longer to be able to play even the highest notes,
- the fingerboard was tilted a little more, to produce even more volume as larger and larger orchestras became popular.
- nearly all old instruments were modified, including lengthening of the neck by one centimeter, in response to the raising of pitch that occurred in the 19th century.
- the bass bar of nearly all old instruments was made heavier to allow a greater string tension.
- the classical luthiers nailed and glued the instrument necks to the upper block of the body before gluing on the soundboard, while later luthiers mortise the neck to the body after completely assembling the body.
Nevertheless, instruments of approximately 300 years of age, especially those made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesù, are the most sought after instruments (for both collectors and performers). In addition to the skill and reputation of the maker, an instrument's age can also influence both price and quality.
Recent inventions
More recently, the Stroh violin used mechanical amplification similar to that of an unelectrified gramophone to boost sound volume, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries before electronic sound amplification became common. Note the small "monitor" horn pointed at the player's ear, for audibility on a loud stage, where the main horn points at the audience.
The electric violin on the right was built by John Jordan in the early 21st century, and is tuned C G D A E.
See also
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